I just did a facepalm, IRL. Posting from my mobile phone because these things always come to me the moment I'm in bed and close my eyes, and booting my laptop is taking too long. So sorry about the HTML fail.

The scene in Cuddy's office in 5.23:

HOUSE: I'M HALLUCINATING.

Isn't it remarkable that he had actually started doing so right then? Coincidence? No way. Damn your brilliance, PTB. How many more hints were we going to need?

I tried to sleep but who am I kidding?

MY THOUGHTS - SPOILERS AHEAD!

I am struck with a myriad of emotions and as I type this up, I have finally got a bit of a grip on them. This episode felt like receiving a something the weight of a bowling ball in my stomach. All my joy and happiness over last week's episode shattered to a million pieces. I've never felt this fucked over before and can't deal with this disappointement—at least that's how I felt at first.

After watching it for the second time (just the character stuff, I skipped all the POTW scenes; I'm sorry, I just don't care at this moment) and indulging in a broad and profound analysis, I had calmed down for most part and had got over my initial anger and misery. And I knew then that this episode couldn't have been done better. It's so bizarre but I feel like all the things that have happened so far, everything has just been turned around. Eventually all the puzzle pieces just fell into place. With this realization, I found myself alternating between almost-crying over the bitter sorrow combined with the loneliness this episode brought forth, and laughing out loud (in a house where everyone sleeps at this hour) at my own naivety and the beauty of this utter brilliance. Nothing is ever going to be the same again.

I had to rewatch all the Cuddy scenes to make sure her way of reacting would still make sense now that I knew they didn't in fact sleep together, and although not all of it sailed as smoothly as one should suppose, I was generally impressed by how the writers handled this without raising suspicion so early on in the episode. One thing I got stuck on was Cuddy screaming the following line:

"But an employee shouting about his sexual exploits—with me, ..."

Is she saying they did have sex? Why yes, I believe she is. Because they did. This was yet another confirmation of their spending a night together at least once in the past. See the thing is, Cuddy wouldn't have been so angry if House's announcement bore not a even the slightest fibre of truth, but it did. And Cuddy is still super vulnerable when it comes to this fact, meaning their past hook-up(s) definitely meant something. I apologize if I'm not making any sense to you guys. It all appears to be very logical in my head.

That moment when House walked into Cuddy's office to ask her about the lipstick gave me that Fight Club / Sixth Sense kind of epiphany feeling. Was it really in-character of Cuddy to sleep with House, given a) the state he was in and b) her concern for what it'll do to their relationship on a professional level? No, it wasn't, but we were all flying high as a kite with shipping joy and (understandably) lacked proper judgment.

I think there's no reason for us to despise David Shore as a result of this episode. It's his show and he doesn't owe us a thing. Besides, he in no way harmed our ship beyond repair. We're all well aware these characters are never going to be Happy Together, but I'm sure their story is nowhere near over. If anything, I think season 5 was a prologue to everything that's coming our way next. Their fun and sexy push and pull-relationship as we know it may lag and falter for a while with House being institutionalized, but I believe that, in time, things will generally be back to normal.

As for people bitching about Cuddy visiting the wedding instead of being there for House when Wilson brought him to a psychiatric hospital, Cuddy was not the right person to take him. If House told her about the hallucinations, she might've felt the need to distance herself and having him personally admitted would've been something she should leave to others, such as, well, Wilson really. However, if he didn't tell her about the hallucinations (which I assume), she had no business with him at all and that last scene had her at the wedding to show that she has no idea to what an extent House needs her in his life, especially right now. Which one it is, we'll hopefully find out next season.

Yes, I am also devastated that the whole detoxification process and the sleeping together wasn't real (it's been a blissful week), but I also recognize the significance of the fact that House, idealistically, created this new pain-free way of life in his head—with Cuddy. Which leads me to lines said on this show before, Cuddy’s “I’m always here,” and Wilson’s “This is all about Cuddy.” Because in essence, that’s what it is. Lisa Edelstein has pointed out that the last two episodes were going to be a major validation concerning House’s feelings for Cuddy and they were. We know now that his feelings for her run deep, perhaps not deep enough to have her presence block out pain that is unbearable without Vicodin, but it’s been made clear that, if anyone, Cuddy is the one who can help him push through this. And the fact that the writers realize this should makes us a very lucky bunch of shippers.

Thoughts, give them to me.